jinatot

Greetings fellow daoists so i have been practicing qigong for a week now and i think i have been sensing a bit of progress but as a beginner as I am(and self-taught too), there are just minor questions that is bothering me that just have to be answered. 1. Is it okay to practice qigong for the whole day? excluding the time for sleep and eating of course. 2. sometimes when I do abdominal breathing there are gurgling sounds, what are those? 3. sometimes when I do breathing exercises, my inhalation makes whistling sounds and my nose feels heavy or numb, am I overdoing it or is it ok? 4. do i need to do abdominal breathing when I am doing a dynamic qigong(if it is called this way)? I can't seem to do this when I'm putting my hands up(e.g. lifting the sky). 5. It seems I am more active and sensitive(to qi) at night than in daytime, is there a problem with this? any other thoughts for this matter? 6. any solutions for nasal congestion? the other part of my nose seems blocked while the other is doing okay. this only happens sometimes. 7. I am doing breathing exercises lying down, does that makes difference? 8. do I exhale in my mouth or in my nose? based on articles ive read and videos i watched there are those exhaling in the nose and there are those that do it in their mouth, or there are specific exercises for those? 9. As a beginner, i can only sense qi mostly in my palms using la qi(the one where you rub your hands). does this work in other body parts too or are there any other technique similar to this for other body parts? opinions are greatly appreciated

Guys, I need your thoughts again about my condition. Please read until the end because this is gonna be long and excuse me for those eating their meal while reading this as it will contain detailed description of some stuffs inappropriate for you. Yesterday, I got a serious fever, this is the first time in many months and I thought I won't be having a fever or cold anymore because I started practicing qigong and some acupressure that I have read in the internet and I really am trying to be more aware about my body. Of course the night before this I feel realaxed after doing breathing meditation. During this fever I coughed and vomited a lot of green stuff, maybe the me in the past would probably ignore this stuff but not anymore so I consulted my trusted doctor, Dr. Google and I found out it might be bile but I am also coughing while vomiting so it might be phlegm or maybe a combination of both. But I found out again that I would only vomit bile if I got an empty stomach but I eat my dinner as usual before I sleep and this is the first time(yes, in my whole lifetime) that I vomited some green stuff. So I consulted again my doctor, this time in his TCM perspective and found out this fever (but I don't know about coughig and vomiting)usually happens in those unhealthy people practicing qigong for the first time and I thought maybe this is a good thing and maybe I am expelling those toxic substance I have accumulated all these years but at the same time I am confused since the bile I am vomiting has a function in my body(to digest and absorb fat-soluble substance). The day passed and I still feel horrible. Today(second day of my fever), I woke up coughing some dark green phlegm I know this is phlegm because I didn't vomit during this but minutes after I ate my breakfast I started coughing and vomiting green stuff again together with what I ate(it is oatmeal btw). Still I did my exercise and drink a lot of water recommended by my doctor and my friends here even if I feel horrible, this alleviate some uncomfortable sensations( like headache) because I began to sweat and expelled those stuff coming from the large intestines which this time is very waterry and smells 10x more horrible than usual that I had to flush twice so the smell goes away(yes, this is very rare occurence for me). After that I decided to rest but I can't seem to do it because I am still coughing uncontrollably and it causes pain in my abdomen due to stress of continuous coughing and again I vomited a lot of water which I drinked earlier no more green stuff this time but there is some stomach acids there because it stings in my throat and nasal cavities. So I researched again and maybe I can find the root cause of all of these as I listed all the conditions and symptoms I am feeling everyday. First of all I have heartburns every now and then and I burp a lot every meals and maybe It is related to hernia which my father told me about that I was born with it but didn't tell me what kind of hernia it is (he probably doesn't know too) so I researched again and I found it could be I both have hernia in esophagus and groin (hiatal hernia and inguinal hernia) as I feel most symptoms of these two and I also have bulge in my right groin, indicative of inguinal hernia and now that I am aware of it, it somewhat hurts when I cough. I reasearched again using TCM perspective and it says I may have problems wih my stomach and lungs which proves it because of coughing and vomiting. I also have lingering mucus o phlegm in my lower throat next to my clavicles I can't seem to expel for a long time now. Another one thing I fear the most is about this groin/inguinal hernia. It says a part of intestines is protruding in the weakest part of abdominal wall will cause a bulge in groin which 90% sure I definitely have, combined with what my father said. In my qigong practice and every time I inhale, It somehow pushes down all my organs downward and I fear that it will also push further the already protruded intestine outside my abdomenal wall. (This is only based on my understanding of inguinal hernia.) Any advice is deeply appreciated. At this time, I still have my coughing fits together with stomach pains and I think It will still be present tomorrow.

Another concerns of mine but certainly not the last. During every seated and standing meditation [where I only focus in my breath](2 to 10 minutes usually) I do, I feel there some air getting stuck at my chest whenever I inhale. And after every meditation my chest is getting numb and heavy. Anyone experienced this before? My assumption is my bad posture before I am concerned about my health. Its been a month now since I started, and there are certainly noticeable changes in my body and I don't know if this changes are either good or a bad signs of my health since I have been living an unhealthy lifestyle before my practice. One of the changes that is worrying me is that I seem to have been more sensitive to external and internal influences. I am feeling uncomfortable sensations that I have not been feeling before (but I know I have those injuries and conditions before) and my intolerance in extreme environment is increasing(I seem to have been more tolerant in heat and cold before). There are also occasional itchiness, numbness and goosebumps all over my body. Some minor good things it did to me is I am not pale in color anymore , my hair and nails didn't grow as fast like before (like many times slower actually)and I wake up before my alarm clock rings. Please tell me which of these are good or bad signs of my qigong practice.

Another thing, when I meditate and breath long enough, there is something that will stuck in my throat, when that happens, I feel like I am breathing through my ears and I also hear my breathing clearly. I try to swallow it but it will come back soon enough. It is not a comfortable feeling. Anyone encountered this before?

What Is the difference meditating sitting in full lotus position and sitting in a chair? I am uncomfortable meditating sitting in lotus especially in my ankles. Do I need to actually practice sitting in lotus position?

Is it bad to meditate in a closed, air conditioned room?

I was doing some sitting meditation and I think I am doing well but then I feel this pulsing feeling in my lower left back and It won't stop even after I finished. It only stopped after maybe 10 minutes. Does it mean I have injury there somewhat or some kind of blockage?

I think this sums up what i have been trying to explain. So can I do that using ba duan jin?

I mean I initially fill my lower lungs with air in my relaxed state and then slowly breath until the upper part becomes full too. I am not very good at explanation, so..

I am now trying to practice full set of ba duan jin (since it is the most numerous turorials I have found in internet). By now I have my own personal physical form that I am comfortable doing, but as I have mentioned before I have trouble doing abdominal breathing when stretching. I am trying to experiment doing abdominal breathing while I am in relaxed state and complete the breathing up to the solar plexus and chest when moving. Will this hurt me in the long time? Until now, I have not heard of qigong breathing in the chest area, I only read abdominal breathing in qigong, not one mentioned full breathing up to upper lungs. Please enlightened me.

Another question, in your practice, how much time have you spent sensing the qi in your whole body? It is not that I am impatient with results, I plan to do qigong by habit and make it a lifestyle regardless of time spent. It is just that I want to know how I do well and track my current progress.

It didn't at all, opinions from different practicioners are deeply appreciated.

are you talking about fall season?so is there is an appropriate breathing for every season? unfortunately, there is no autumn where I live. Here, the rainy season will end soon and is now approaching cold season, is there an appropriate qigong anyone can suggest? anyway thanks for your different output, I am now beginning to understand a little bit more and I hope everyone can give their answers for beginners like me.

Is the pain you are talking about along the lines of emotional instabilities? Anyway, thanks for your concern and answers so far, it has been very helpful. another question, after sensing qi in my palms(more apparent in my fingertips) and to some extent, in my feet, this time I feel it at the back of my head/ behind the ears, is this good? I think I read somewhere in the internet it is dangerous or at least not until I am proficient, to meddle in sensitive areas like neck, head and groin areas. Another thing, do I consider my dan tian as something that I will feel naturally after practicing for enough time (just like when I felt qi in my palms then feet then head an so on, maybe after I feel the qi in my spine then towards my energy center) or will I need to practice visualizing it separately even when I still haven't yet feel the qi in my whole body? I can't seem to visualize it gathering qi when I am breathing just like what I have been reading and watching because maybe I am practicing qigong in wrong order. speaking of order, sensing the qi is the first step, i understand that much at least according to what I have read, then what is the most advisable second step for a total beginner like me?

attacks from spiritual beings? I am not familiar with this things, what should I do if ever i get attacked with this beings? I don't know someone who can help me regarding this matter as I am only learning by myself.

I don't understand this part. Is this inner world comes along with qigong when I practice this art long enough? If ever I encountered this inner world what I am supposed to look for? I am not really a devout and religious person though I am a baptized catholic maybe it helps. another question. When I relax my body and try to feel the qi, the tingling feelings in my fingers has become itchy sensations, it has become irritating but not really unbearable. is this the natural progression or did I do something wrong in my practice? btw I practice some qigong exercises from ba Duan Jin but not all and some standing qigong.

thanks for the answers. another question, can i practice another set of qigong, say more than 3 different sets of qigong. will it conflict with each other and have detrimental effect on my body?

Hello fellow daoists, I just read that I should make at least one post here as a newcomer so here it is.😁 My main interest here is to learn things about qigong. Just as I am new here, I am also a beginner in qigong. I just started teaching myself by reading online articles and watching videos so if you happen to know and share free tips(in this forum and qigong) that are helpful for beginners, you have my gratitude. Actually my interest in qigong came from reading too much martial arts manga, wuxia, xianxia etc., you know gaining powers, stuff like that, I know its very exagerrated (or maybe possible if you reached higher level). My goal is actually not to learn martial arts , I am more fascinated in healing (you know mysterious doctors in fantasy novels something like that hahaha) and probably impress and teach my friends and family when I gain apparent results. PS . english is not my main language so excuse me if there is something wrong there